# what's cooking

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/whats-cooking
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A greeting, similar to how are you?; what's happening?; what's up?; what's new?

## Examples

- Hey, what's cooking? I haven't seen you in ages.
- He walked into the kitchen, saw his friends chatting, and asked, 'So, what's cooking?'
- The old man leaned against the fence, tipped his hat, and called out, 'What's cooking, neighbor?' — a greeting unchanged since their youth.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.